Garth Kriewall

I believe Julie is correct in her assessment. Of course, individual circumstances may vary, but across the board, public education today has higher expectations of its students. As Julie rightly points out in the comments section, the most vocal critics rely on anecdotes. Sadly, those anecdotes have a familiar premise: "It's the students' fault."

In years past, we could let those poorer students slide. They could always find work, if they wanted. It's a different world today, and that's why the push to get more kids ready for post-secondary education of some sort, not necessarily college.